Mustard Dumplings

Song Shixia helped Ji Weiqing hang up the clothes.

"How long will you stay this time?"

Ji Weiqing hesitated for a while.

"Without any notice, I should be able to accompany you until the end of the college entrance examination."

She was so happy that he was back; he had been away on a business trip for almost three months.

Song Shixia took credit for it.

"I improved Yanran's grades. She made it into the top 100 in the second joint exam. She was only 10 people away from the top 50. And the questions this time were harder than the first joint exam."

Ji Weiqing raised his hand and patted her shoulder.

"Thanks a lot."

Song Shixia pulled his wrist.

"It's not hard. Explaining the topic to her is also a way to strengthen my mind."

"Aunt Feng waited until I finished my college entrance exams and asked me to accompany her to take the night school exams. She did well and at least mastered the knowledge of junior high school and was at the level of a technical college."

Song Shixia chattered with him about her daily life, as if she had endless things to say. Before, she was alone at home taking care of the child, and she didn't feel that she missed him that much, but now that he was home, she realized that she missed him deeply.

Ji Weiqing listened silently, with only her reflection in her focused eyes.

"By the way, I have replenished all the money in the passbook. Now I feel safe again. Your passbook is the backbone of our family. I would be worried if there is a little less money."

Song Shixia specially added the second half of the sentence to make him feel that he was not estranged from him, but that he regarded his money as a life-saving fund.

Ji Weiqing was silent for a while, then took out an envelope from the suitcase.

"This is the allowance for the business trip, and also the money for the medicinal liquor given by the seniors."

The envelope was so thick that one could see with the naked eye that there must be a lot of money inside. Even if it was just ten yuan, it would be at least four or five hundred sheets thick.

She couldn't believe it.

"So many?"

"The business trip allowance accounts for the bulk of the money, and the medicinal liquor is priced according to the ordinary market price. The seniors insisted on paying for it."

Song Shixia had no intention of collecting money from her seniors. These bigwigs were the pillars of a country. They had a special liking for her medicinal wine and tea, and she was flattered by them.

Any one of these seniors will become a great and influential figure in the future, and some of them will not reveal their names until they retire.

Song Shixia knew so much because she accidentally found out where Ji Weiqing was on a business trip. That place was the first place to develop rockets, but she didn't know what they were researching at the moment. But this didn't prevent her from guessing the identities of her predecessors, so she didn't mind doing them a favor.

"Please write down the names of the seniors. If they need it again in the future, I can send some more to them."

Ji Weiqing was hesitating about how to start the conversation when Song Shixia suddenly understood what he meant.

"Just write your name. For example, if your last name is Wang, you can write Teacher Wang. It's OK as long as you know which senior you are referring to."

"Don't look at me. I know you are working on confidentiality and cannot reveal my name. I just took it for granted."

Ji Weiqing's eyes were as gentle as water, and there was a hint of tenderness in them that was not easily revealed.

"Thank you, Xia Xia. I would like to thank you on behalf of our seniors."

"No, I plan to develop brewing medicinal wine and making tea cakes into a side business, and then sell them to the seniors at the market price."

The seniors were unwilling to take advantage of them for free, so they sold it to them at a low price, hoping to keep these "superstars" who have dedicated themselves to the country healthy.

Ji Weiqing was not surprised, nor did he stop her from thinking.

"Have you thought about it?"

Song Shixia Zheng nodded.

"I treat it as a side job and won't put too much effort into it. I sell it when I have nothing to do. If it's too much, I can't handle it."

As for how to sell it, Sister Yao Xue was even more enthusiastic than she was. She was eager to help her make a fortune as soon as she finished the college entrance examination.

It is said that the wealthy businessmen in G City are in great demand for wine, so they are all trying to buy her medicinal wine. I don't know who spread the word that the medicinal wine can nourish the body and make people stay strong. There was even a wealthy businessman who was infertile and made his girlfriend pregnant.

So they directly bid up the price of the medicinal liquor. Yao's father still had a lot of it on hand. He originally wanted to bid up the price and then sell it, but he didn't expect the price to keep going higher and higher before he even sold it, so he didn't dare to sell it anymore.

Friends who knew that he had medicinal wine came to him every day to beg to buy it. The price rose from eight yuan a bottle to 80 yuan, and some even raised the price to 200 yuan.

Father Yao had always thought that medicinal wine and tea cakes were definitely good things. Who would have thought that they could be used to treat different conditions for different people? He was impressed that Chinese medicine was indeed profound and extensive. Look at this medicinal wine, it was prepared using ancient methods.

If his business is good, Yao Xue and Song Shixia will get more money. Before, when Yao's father discussed cooperation with the local person in charge, he had to smile and drink, but now when he heard that he had medicinal wine, he immediately came with gifts, and the status was reversed.

These were the contents mentioned in the letter that Yao's father sent to her later, and Yao Xue read them all to Song Shixia without reservation.

"The children's car is a gift from Yao Xue's father to our children. Don't worry, this is not a gift."

Ji Weiqing thought in this direction, "I'm not worried about that. I'm just worried that you'll be bullied when you start a business at such a young age."

Song Shixia understood his concerns.

"I don't work with strangers, I only work with my brother and Senior Yao."

"It's good that you have your own ideas. If you encounter difficulties, tell your father. Although he is retired, he can still have a say in some cases."

Song Shixia teased him, "Aren't you worried that I will damage Dad's reputation?"

Ji Weiqing said without hesitation, "I know your character. If that day really comes, I believe it is not your fault. There must be a reason for it."

Song Shixia felt sweet in her heart. This was probably the feeling of being trusted without pay.

Downstairs, Song's mother and Han Rong were cooking and chatting in the kitchen.

Han Rong couldn't help but say, "Mother-in-law, why don't you just watch TV in the living room and wait for a while? Why are you here to help as a guest?"

Song's mother was embarrassed to sit in the living room and watch TV, so she asked her son-in-law's mother to busy herself in the kitchen.

"It's okay. I can't sit still. I'll feel more comfortable if I stretch my legs. By the way, the TV in my house was a gift from Xiao Ji!"

There was a hint of tentativeness in Song's mother's words, mainly because she wanted to see what kind of person her mother-in-law was.

Han Rong's eyes narrowed into slits as she smiled.

"Him? I told him to buy it! He didn't even hold a wedding for Xiao Song. During the Chinese New Year, when the relatives saw Xiao Song, they thought she was someone's daughter. They were shocked to find out that she was A Qing's daughter-in-law!"

Song's mother had heard her daughter mention that her mother-in-law was a kind and generous person before. It was true that seeing was believing.

"Your family really spent a lot of money. Marrying a daughter-in-law from our country is not that particular. Shi Xia's father and I had never thought about this. The reason we were angry at the time was that it was too hasty. The two young people were in a hurry to get the marriage certificate before they knew each other. It's embarrassing to say that I thought they had already done it and were pregnant."

Song's mother was embarrassed to tell this to anyone else, not even her eldest daughter. This time, she was finally able to open her heart to her in-laws.

Han Rong couldn't stop smiling.

"This is all my fault. Ah Qing has always had his own ideas. We didn't control him. As a result, he never discussed anything with us when he grew up. He even got married last. According to his status, he had to apply to the organization in advance to get married, but he applied after getting the marriage certificate. Fortunately, he knew his father, so he didn't report it to him or criticize him."

"As for young people getting their marriage certificate, Xiao Song and A Qing must have fallen in love with each other so they were in a hurry to get the matter done. They are both impatient and we, as parents, have to deal with the aftermath."

"But mother-in-law, I think what you said is wrong. There is no distinction between city and country wives. In my heart, Xiao Song is much better than city girls. I am not saying that city girls are bad, but that Xiao Song is a good girl. Just listen to her. You have raised a good daughter. I asked you to buy the TV. I wanted to buy you bicycles, but I thought that if you live too well in the country, people will miss you. It's better to have a TV at home to watch it behind closed doors."

Song's mother felt complicated but also moved. No wonder her daughter kept talking about her mother-in-law when she got home. With such a sensible mother-in-law, she felt more comfortable than at home.

"Old sister, I call you sister, but you treat my daughter like your own daughter. I, as a mother, feel ashamed."

Han Rong held Song's mother's hand.

"Your daughter is also my daughter, and my son is also your son. Since our two families are married, we are one family. Don't be so formal."

In the yard, Song's father and Ji Xueya were playing Go face to face. Song's father was not good at speaking, but he was good at playing Go.

Moreover, when it comes to fighting, the two old men have endless topics to talk about. Song's father participated in a war, and Ji Xueya fought in many battles. Although the two have nothing to do with each other, Song's father's leader was the soldier that Ji Xueya led when he was young, so he could be considered his subordinate.

I thought the two men would just look at each other in silence in the yard, but who knew they were even more excited than the people in the house.

After Song's mother talked it over with her in-laws, the two of them became much more coordinated in cooking.

Song's mother was chopping mustard greens.

Han Rong kneaded the dough and said, "Sister Song, your daughter-in-law learned cooking skills from you, right?"

Song's mother felt embarrassed.

"I'm not very good at cooking, but my daughter taught me when I was at home during the Chinese New Year. When she was little, she took care of her younger brother at home, and she liked to fiddle with strange things. Her father and I complained about wasting food, but I didn't expect her to have mastered the cooking skills when she was little. It's a pity that we didn't have the conditions to let her practice, otherwise she might be a hotel chef now."

Han Rong smiled and said,

"So everyone has their own destiny. Although I can't be a hotel chef, I am going to college now. I don't know how much better I am than a hotel chef."

Song's mother nodded in agreement.

"That's true. Fate and destiny are all strange things. For example, my son-in-law and I met on the train. It was such a long train, but we accidentally got on the carriage where he was. Isn't that a coincidence?"

"So, your whole family is blessed. You had a hard time before, but now you are finally getting better."

Han Rong kneaded the dough vigorously, and Song's mother poured mustard greens into the chopped pork stuffing and mixed it. Since there were many people at home today, they prepared to cook dumplings.

Yu Fang stood on tiptoe and listened for a long time but didn't hear the quarrel next door. Didn't they say that Song Shixia's parents from the countryside came to the city to visit relatives? Why didn't they quarrel yet?